For those NYU students from the West Coast: ever wish you could travel home without paying airfare? Well, next time, consult New Yorkers John Belitsky and Dan Wuebben, who have somehow found a cabbie to drive them from La Guardia Airport to the other side of the country in Los Angeles.

Armed with $5,000 and a lot of free time, Belitsky and Wuebben hailed a cab last Saturday evening and except to be in sunny California by today. As of this morning, the duo was in Las Vegas.

The cab driver, Mohammen Alam, was permitted to stop home, grab clean underwear, and let his wife know that he was going to be gone for a few days. The trip is estimated to have cost $17,000 on the meter, but Alam agreed to drive the 2, 448 miles for $5,000. That’s one way to get friendly with your cabbie.

The spontaneous road trip was inspired by Belitsky’s father, a former cab driver, who once said that no New York cab driver would travel all the way to Los Angeles. Naturally, Belitsky needed to prove him wrong.

Along the way, they’ve stopped by the Grand Canyon and plan on doing some sight-seeing in Los Angeles once they arrive. And like any good twenty-first century attention whore, Belitsky has been documenting his cross-country trip on Twitter. Follow him here.